China Daily Hong Kong Edition has been chosen to receive three awards in the categories of Best News Writing and Best Headline from the annual Hong Kong News Awards of the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong.

Feature reporter Zhao Xu was named the first and second runner-up for the Best News Writing in English, with her two feature entries, "Sibling rivalry" and "Reeling in the Years."

"Sibling rivalry" describes the competition between China's two prominent cities - Hong Kong and Shanghai - through detailed description and an analysis of the cities' history and recent development.

In "Reeling in the Years," Zhao tells the story of veteran documentary filmmaker Robert Carl Cohen, as the American spends several days and nights filming footage in China in 1957. As the first American journalist to film in China after 1949, Cohen shared his experiences making the historical film during a time when political censorship was still a reality in China. He also revealed great pride in being the one selected to introduce China to a modern Western world.

Copy editor Robert Ireland won the second runner-up for Best Headline in English with his sharp headline of a Taiwan story, "Even red lights to go green."

The Hong Kong News Awards have been organized and held every year since 1997 by the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong. During the awards, officials present 65 prizes in four sections: reporting, writing, photography and design. The Awards recognize the outstanding achievements of journalists and aim to raise professional standards.

(HK Edition 03/11/2010 page1)